Many of my fondest childhood memories were made while on vacation with my family. When the money was there, we flew all over the world and saw places as varied as Thailand and London. When the budget was tighter, we went on road trips around the U.S. towing the camping trailer. Either way, we spent time together and we were better for it. A few of the best reasons to take time out for travel and recreation with your family are listed below.

1. Bonding as a family.

It's no secret that in the United States today, families don't spend the quality time together they used to. Thirty Years ago, even twenty years ago, most families sat down together in the evening to share a meal and discuss the events going on in their lives. Parents had a much better understanding of how their children were doing, and children had a much better sense of how important they were in their parents' lives.

I have friends who attribute 100% of the closeness in their family to the fact that they traveled together when they were children. On trips there are no friends, sports, or school to distract them. They have only time to spend with each other, and bonds naturally form.

2. Educating your children.

How often is it just you and your kids? Think about it. How frequently are you able to have quality time with your kids where they don't have their friends or their video games to distract them? In those moments when you have your kids'(mostly) undivided attention you can teach them things they'd never otherwise know. My parents were committed to taking my siblings and me all over the United States and to various countries around the world. All of us, to this day, have an appreciation for other cultures and a desire to experience the world and its people. Nothing could have given us that desire like traveling together as a family when we were young. I wouldn't trade those trips for anything, and I plan to do the same things with my children.

3. Improve your marriage.

The divorce rate is as high as it has ever been. We all know the most common causes of divorce. What do the celebrities always say when the get divorced? "Irreconcilable Differences." I'm not sure what that means, but I think I have some good guesses as to why it's not working out for people. They aren't a priority in each other's lives, and they don't spend the time together that would help keep their bond strong. I believe that sometimes divorce is the natural result of two people living together but leading completely separate lives. If they would just travel and recreate together as couples they could re-establish that bond and have an opportunity to become part of one life again instead of having two separate lives in the same home.

4. Perspective on Life and Reduced Stress

I'd have to check the statistics to be sure, but it seems to me that people take less leisure time than they used to. Bigger homes, more expensive cars, and other life costs are forcing us to work more and more to maintain our 'minimum standard of living.' But what's the cost? We get so focused on day to day living and the maintenance of a lifestyle we don't really care about that we forget what really matters to us. And what is that? Who knows - it's different for everybody. It might be quality of experiences we have with our children. It might be art, or music, or volunteering. Or- it might be money and business. Isn't it funny to think we might be working so hard and for the wrong reasons that we stop loving a business or a job that we used to wake up so excited for?

Getting away for travel and vacation clears the mind of the clutter of the day. It allows us to reflect and say "Am I happy with what I'm doing? Is it in the best interest of my family and my future?" It's probably not a good idea to go through life without ever asking those questions.

Your leisure time is crucial to your emotional and physical health, and to the health of your most important relationships. You should make it more of a priority than money or career.